Just Like Hell

by Nate Southard

Dillion is a popular high school football star, gay, and tied to a chair in the dark. His lover is bound and gagged next to him. Around him are his teammates -- his captors. They aren't happy that they've been playing with a "faggot" and they intend to repay the disgrace. There will be humiliation, blood, and pain. But then it gets out of control. What started as black-hearted entertainment has turned into a cat-and-mouse game of gruesome justice. By the end of this night, four people will be dead. And those left alive will be forever scared. Deadite Press is proud to present Nate Southard's modern hardcore horror classic of torture, terror, and bloody vengeance. This edition also includes four bonus stories: "A Team-Building Exercise," "Miss Kenner and Me," "Senorita," and "Work Pit Four."

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Bizarro Fiction

117 pages, Paperback

First published October 26, 2013

About the author

Nate Southard is moody, shy, lanky, bald, and has bad skin. When he isn’t writing, he’s probably cooking Thai food or fried chicken. Seriously, he has something like fifty fried chicken recipes. It’s ridiculous. He recently discovered coffee-flavored ice cream, and it’s ruling his entire world. Did you know if you mix it with chocolate ice cream, you can kinda make mocha ice cream? Nate does!

Nate lives in Austin, Texas.

He sucks at skateboarding.

Nate Southard's books include Will the Sun Ever Come Out Again?, Scavengers, This Little Light of Mine, Red Sky, Just Like Hell, Broken Skin, and He Stepped Through. His short fiction has appeared in such venues as Nightmare Magazine, Cemetery Dance, Black Static, Thuglit, and LampLight. His short story "Going Home, Ugly Stick in Hand" received an honorable mention in Ellen Datlow's The Year's Best Horror, and he earned a Bram Stoker Award nomination for his story "In the Middle of Poplar Street."

Reviews

[Hail Hydra! ~Dave Anderson~ · Rating 4 out of 5]

I chose this book mainly because of the awesome cover. I was not disappointed.

[Gohnar23 (hiatus but still reading) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3️⃣🌟, no one told me this was a short story collection

───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────

#691 Read & Reviewed in 2025 🧊🏔️
Date Read: Monday, December 22, 2025 ☃️🌨️
55th read in "Its TIMEEEE!!!!! (to read more books)" December ❄️⛄

So someone has this ultimate dark secret that they don't want anyone to know. He proceeds to get kidnapped because of it aaaaaand surprise surprise it's another bullying book 😑😑😑. It teaches us a lesson to not.....BULLY PEOPLE (idk who even kidnaps the person that they bully that's just — unrealistic af) 🙃🙃🙃.

So like the book tells us to not do that or else you will feel the wrath of your victims ( if they somehow managers your stupidly executed kidnapping scheme, damn the bully/kidnappers in here are like so damn stupid they didn't even do any effort in keeping them contained they just kinda went with it, no wonder the victim/main character escaped and got revenge to them like — In only a few pages).

And ye thats kinda....it (why the fuck is this put in the most disturbing books in the world, this is like one of the most commonly written short story about kidnapping with this lesson on 'dont bully people/kidnap them cuz like what if they escape and murders you back har harr whatever'.

And it's not like the writing style or the characters in here are revolutionary or disturbing at all. I'm pretty much the most confused person In the world right now because I don't know how this is considered to be one of the most disturbing books in the world 😑😑😑. It's very forgettable. Nothing here is uniquely by itself and the entire narrative itself can be summarized in just a few sentences, It's literally not doing anything.

And I will absolutely not comment on the other stories in this short story collection Because I pretty much don't see this as a story collection. Literally no one told me that this is a short story collection 😭😭😭. The story is the main story — "Just Like Hell". There's no other story other than that. The other stories are just random scenes of random people doing random things for no reason at all other than to be a filler. I never cared about that office job. Never cared about the parents who had just ONE SMALL THING happen and that's it 😑. I hate the other short stories and simply see them as something forgettable and have no reason to exist.


Spice Level 🌶️: 2️⃣
Vibe ☘️: Gay Denial (you'd get it if you've read the book)
Who'd Like This ❓👥: People who died by chainsaw misusage

[Melie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nett für zwischen durch!

[Zaber Rahman]

'জাস্ট লাইক হেল' মূল বইটির বিদেশি রিভিউয়ারদের রিভিউ পড়েই বোঝা যায়, বইটি কতটা আবেদন সৃষ্টি করেছিল বিদেশি পাঠকদের মাঝে। 'এক্সট্রিম হরর' জনরার একটা মজার বিষয় হলো, এ জনরার বইগুলোতে পাঠক মূলত প্রচ্ছদের কারণে মজে যায়- প্রচ্ছদটা আচমকাই কারও গতিকে সম্পূর্ণই থমকে দেয়, কারও গা গুলানোর অনুভূতির সৃষ্টি হয়, কারও কাছে প্রচ্ছদটি চরম বিরক্তিকর-একশেষ বোধ হয়। কিন্তু মানব চরিত্রের প্রধান একটি দিক হলো, নিষিদ্ধের প্রতি অমোঘ আকর্ষণ; সে কারণে পাঠককূল প্রচ্ছদটিকে সম্পূর্ণই উপেক্ষা করে যেতে পারে না! তাই শেষমেশ প্রচ্ছদের কারণে কিনতেই হয় বইটি! 'জাস্ট লাইক হেল'-ও এই একই প্রচলিত পন্থার দিকেই হেঁটেছে।

কিন্তু এটাও ঠিক, যেমন বলা হয়ে থাকে 'কখনও কাভার (প্রচ্ছদ) দিয়ে পুরো বইকে জাজ কোরো না' তেমনি নতুনভাবে বলা যেতে পারে 'ওরে, একটি বই এর কেবল কাভারই (প্রচ্ছদ) সবকিছু নারে, পাগলা!'। কিছু মাল-মশলা তো 'এক্সট্রিম হরর' এর বইগুলোর ভিতরে রয়েছেই!

নেইট সাদার্ড এর এক্সট্রিম হরর জনরা উপন্যাস 'জাস্ট লাইক হেল'-ও একই পথেরই পথিক যেন। কাহিনীর এডাল্টনেস, অত্যাচারের নিষ্ঠুরতা, ভয়ংকর প্রতিশোধপরায়ণতা পাঠককে অধিকাংশ সময়টাতে গা শিহরণ ও গোলানোর যুগলবন্দীত্বে আটকে রাখবে।

নেইট সাদার্ড এর এক্সট্রিম হরর জনরা উপন্যাস 'জাস্ট লাইক হেল' সুন্দর, সাবলীল, প্রাঞ্জলভাবে বিডির পাঠকদের সামনে তুলে ধরেছেন সুঅনুবাদক তানভীর মৌসুম। বিডিতে এক্সট্রিম হরর জনরার ১ম বই 'টেরাটোলজিস্ট' তার হাত ধরে ১ম অনূদিত হয়েছিল, যেটি কিনা ২০১৯ বইমেলায় ২য় মুদ্রণ প্রকাশিত হয়েছিল!

'জাস্ট লাইক হেল' বইটি বিডির পাঠকদের পড়ার আমন্ত্রণ রইল।

[Nicholas Gray · Rating 5 out of 5]

So, what did I think of this bloody revenge tale? I gave it four and a half stars! It was an amazing read for me! I had to take a break halfway through the book because I was so upset about what was happening to these poor boys!
This story is about two gay high school lovers that are about to face adversity in the eyes of Dillon’s Football squad. What happens to these boys hurt me at my core, and I couldn’t wait for the revenge plot to kick in! The story was well written and dark… very, very dark.
This is a very short novella, so I don’t want to give too much of this book away, which I feel I may have already done. It is a gruesome book and not for the faint of heart.
So, with all that said, four and a half stars is my total for this novella. I just felt like it was missing something, like a better aftermath? Well, now I’m just nitpicking.
At times I feel like this book could have been longer, and that’s is literally my only complaint! But that may be because I didn’t want this book to end!

[Ms. Nikki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just Like Hell - 3 Star - ending was very clipped
A Team Building Exercise-5 Stars- Wish it could have been longer. Great idea.
Miss Kenner and Me - 2 1/2 Stars - just meh
Señorita - 3Stars
Work Pit Four- 1 - Either I shouldn't be trying to read at 5 am or this one didn't make any sense

[Daniel BlutsBücher · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eine Klasse Kurzgeschichte!! Horror Pur. Die Andere Geschichte ist aber ein Stück besser :)

Für Horrorfans auf jeden Fall empfehlenswert!!!

[Tucker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent revenge story but honestly doubt it’s gonna leave much of an impact on me. Parts of it read like fanfiction. Am ambivalent about the other stories.

[TLW · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*

[Tonmoy · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The primary difference between human and God is called Anger" -Anonymous
"Man is the cruelest animal" - Friedrich Nietzsche
Just Like Hell is a collection of a novella and four short stories. Depending on their plot, structure and characterization I will rate them as:
➤ Just Like Hell > ✯✯✯✯
➤ A Team-Building Exercise > ✯✯
➤ Miss Kenner and Me > ✯✯✯✯
➤ Senorita > ✯✯✯
➤ Work Pit Four > ✯✯
Ultimately, an average rating of 3.
Though most people shelved the book as Horror, I would rather term it as Torture Porn.
The best story of this book is the novella- just like hell. But, I will only recommend this to a specific circle of people who have experiences in such disturbing literature. It is a story about 5 friends and a night which is long enough to elicit cruelty like hell.
However, I have observed some plot holes Dillon had broken ribs, then how he managed to take vindictive steps against his friends? On the first place, how did he managed to loose the tight knots!! Slug or Tobby was not so foolish that they frivolously knot there friend after such incidents - things like these we often observe on films and TV series. But, I personally think books should be tendentious to reality.
On the short stories, Miss Kenner and Me was better than others. It had a nice plot and strong characterization to corroborate them. Others have a lack of reasoning. It would be nice if the stories were more detailed.
Finally, Thanks to artist Suzzan Blac who designed the cover, mostly intrigued me to read the book. I would also like to mention the writer Tanvir Mousum and his translated synopsis; which encouraged further to include the book in my busy schedule.

[Seitenglanz · Rating 5 out of 5]

„Eine Nacht in der Hölle“ geschrieben von Nate Southard ist ein Teil des vierten Bandes der Festa Extrem Reihe. Ich schreibe „ein Teil“, da der vierte Band aus zwei Geschichten besteht. *zwinker* Die Bücher der Reihe sind in sich abgeschlossen, doch wer einmal festafiziert ist, möchte alle weiteren Bände auch lesen. *grins*

Dadurch, dass es sich um eine kurze und knackige Geschichte handelt, welche gerade mal 93 Seiten füllt, wird es auch keine superlange Rezension werden. Doch finde ich, hat jedes Buch eine Rezi und jeder Autor ein Feedback verdient. Genauso möchten auch die Verlage gerne eine Rückmeldung zu ihren Schützlingen bekommen. 🙂

Die Sprache und Wortwahl war wirklich easy zu lesen. Keine Fremdwörter und auch keine Auflistungen von weiß Gott wie vielen Namen. Das gefällt mir! Doch denke ich, dass dieses Buch eingefleischte Festa Extrem Leser wohl nicht vom Stuhl gehauen hat. Brutalität ist zwar vorhanden, aber sehr dezent beschrieben. Vergewaltigungen sind auch da, aber auch diese sind nur wenig ausgeprägt. Dieses Buch besticht mit seiner Spannung. Der Leser möchte unbedingt wissen, ob Dillon Gerechtigkeit wiederfahren wird. Ob er seinen Team-Kollegen entfliehen kann und ob diese für ihr Handeln bestraft werden. Mich hat diese Geschichte in ihren Bann gezogen. Ich fand es eine schöne Abwechslung zu den sonst sehr extremen Ausschmückungen. Und ich konnte so gut mit Dillon mitfühlen. Der Hass, die Wut, die Verzweiflung … ja, auch die Mordlust! Was jetzt nicht heißen soll, dass ich morden würde. *lach* Nein, ich konnte seine Gefühle, in seiner Situation, einfach nachempfinden. Wie oben bereits geschrieben, besteht der vierte Festa Extrem Band aus zwei verschiedenen Geschichten (Büchern). Kann man es Wendebuch nennen? Man hat auf der einen Seite das Cover und auf der anderen wo der Leser normalerweise den Klappentext vermuten würde ist auch ein Cover, nur auf dem Kopf stehend. *grins* Eine für mich Neue, aber sehr interessante Sache. Auch das finde ich für kürzere Geschichten eine super Lösung!

Das Thema von „Eine Nacht in der Hölle“ ist kein Unbekanntes! Seit mir in meiner Kindheit/Jugend der Begriff „Homosexualität“ erklärt wurde, weiß ich auch um die Probleme, mit welchen sich diese Männer herumschlagen müssen. Und das dauert bis in unser angeblich so tolerantes Zeitalter an! Erschreckend! Sollen doch die Menschen lieben, wenn sie lieben möchten. Ein Erfolg war auf jeden Fall die Hochzeit für ALLE! Aber wenn man überlegt, wie lange es bis dahin gebraucht hat … na ja, das aber nur Mal so am Rande. Eigentlich geht es hier ja ums Buch. In der Geschichte geht es um einen High-School-Jungen, welcher sich in seinen Nachhilfekumpel verliebt. Dies bekommt seine Clique irgendwann spitz und das veranlasst sie ihm eines auswichen zu wollen. Alleine das ist schon krank. Auf jeden Fall verschleppen die Jungs die beiden Geliebten und möchten ihn eine Nacht bescheren, welche sie nicht mehr vergessen werden, im bösen Sinne. Doch plötzlich läuft so einiges aus dem Ruder und nichts ist mehr nach Plan!

Der Schreibstil von Nate Southard ist toll. Für mich war es das erste Werk, welches ich aus seiner Feder lesen durfte und es wird hoffentlich nicht das Letzte bleiben. Ein sehr angenehmer Schreibstil mit einer tollen Unterteilung in kurze und knappe, dafür aber spannungsgeladene Kapitel.

Die Protagonisten:
Dillon Campbell steht eigentlich schon sein gesamtes Leben in einem Konkurrenzkampf mit seinem besten Kumpel Kevin Fairfield. Dillon ist dabei oft eine Nasenlänge weiter, als Kevin. Das frustriert Kevin und somit nimmt die Tragik mit der Enthüllung von Dillons Homosexualität seinen Lauf. Eine „Schwuchtel“ ist besser als er! Und dann macht sein bester Freund, Dillon, auch noch mit dem Streber und Prügelknaben Randy Martin rum. Die Clique von Dillon, Kevin, Toby und Slug bricht auseinander. Wobei Toby noch ein Gewissen besitzt, welches Slug und Kevin irgendwo verloren gegangen ist.

Fazit:
Eine tolle Geschichte um ein heikles Thema. Ich fand das Buch spannend und hätte gerne noch mehr von Dillon erfahren. Kann es empfehlen!

Mehr Buchrezensionen von mir, findet Ihr auf http://www.seitenglanz.com.

[Ismael · Rating 4 out of 5]

No llegas a leer Just Like Hell por mera casualidad, si lo encontraste es porque sabes que estabas buscando y a lo que te estabas metiendo, igual que un bar de mala muerte. Habiendo señalando eso comienzo la reseña.

W O W

Que gran libro. Muy corto, pero conciso, puntual y sencillo. Esto último aunque pueda sonar despectivo he de señalar que es todo lo contrario. En unas cuantas páginas Nate Southard genera un clima super estresante, inquietante y nauseabundo, cosa que se agradece y que uno busca cuando lee libros de este género.

La primera muerte me pareció... wow, me provocó un horror que no recuerdo haber sentido en muchísimos años. Esta excelentemente narrada y... no sé, tendrían que leerlo para saber a qué me refiero.

Terminé de leer este libro en unos 3 días y los primeros dos me sentí asqueado y al mismo tiempo intrigado. Es de esos libros que esperas con ansías llegar a casa para seguir leyendo y saber qué pasó y es que en general es un excelente libro, tiene una buena trama, personajes definidos, un excelente argumento y lo peor de todo es que es una historia que pudiera suceder en la vida real, en cualquier momento. Las narraciones son gráficas y terribles, crudas, pero son cosas que suceden en la vida real. Cuando ves que los horrores de este libro no se acaban cuando lo cierras, que estos te siguen a tu mundo, es cuando empiezas a sentir terror.

Sin duda es el primero de varios libros que leeré de este gran autor.

Si le doy 4 estrellas es porque la primera muerte, como ya dije, me pareció brutal, pero el resto son un poco menos shockeantes. Eso sólo es un detalle personal.

Recomendado 100% y de nuevo, si llegaste a este libro y piensas leerlo, creo que debes ser consciente de lo que trata y prepararte para leerlo.

[Ella · Rating 5 out of 5]

Honestly a good four and a half. the main story is amazing and I absolutely loved it.

Just Like Hell - 5 stars. Plain gory
A Team Building Exercise - 2 stars. Not my style.
Miss Keller and Me - 4½ stars. I loved the concept, but the ending didn't do it for me.
Señorita - 3 or 4 stars. The start was great, but it just suddenly turned into a fever dream.
Work Pit Four - 4 stars. Definitely has potential.

[Josh Warfel · Rating 5 out of 5]

A heartbreaking and superb story.

[Daniel Volpe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good splatterpunk collection. The title story is excellent, but the other few aren't nearly as good. Quick, easy read.

[Uptown Horror Reviews · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book was cool, but I was expecting more.

[Arif Raihan Opu · Rating 1 out of 5]

হরর বলা হলেও এতে হরর নেই। এক্সট্রিম ভায়োলেন্স আছে। তবে অনুবাদে যেই ভাষা ব্যবহার করা হয়েছে তা একদম ই ঠিক না। এই বই না পড়াই ভালো।

[Ahmed Rihan · Rating 3 out of 5]

the ending is lackluster and it has some plotholes that i'm willing to ignore

[Markakaraci Alakakaci · Rating 2 out of 5]

Pretigi

[William M. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nate Southard is a new horror writer on the scene with a lot of buzz and I was very excited to dive into some of his work. After reading “Just Like Hell”, I can happily confirm that the praise is accurate and earned.

While the story and setup might feel familiar to many genre fans, it is the way in which Southard moves through the different perspectives that gives this story a fresh feel. His economy of words pulls you along at a rapid pace, tossing you into the center of violence like some out-of-control storm.

If I had any criticisms about the book, it would be some of the interactions between our protagonist, Dillion, and our main villain, Kevin. The background of the characters tells us that the two have been close friends since grade school. But the dialogue, at times, did not feel as authentic as you might have expected from lifelong buddies. Even when things become nasty, there was a distance and unfamiliarity between them that seemed awkward. Perhaps a shared detail from their past would have organically helped to fuse their relationship more.

Not as gruesome as some of the writings by Edward Lee, Bryan Smith, or Wrath James White, this was still a brutal read and maintained its intensity until the very end. The four bonus short stories were also quite enjoyable, with my favorite being, “Miss Kenner and Me”. I will certainly be seeking out more from this up-and-coming writer.

[Grant Palmquist · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just Like Hell is a tight little horror novella with not a wasted word. It centers on Dillon, the star running back of a high-school football team; Randy, Dillon's nerdy lover; and Kevin, the star wide receiver and Dillon's best friend ... till he finds out Dillon's gay. Kevin's discovery leads to a game in his parents' cabin that will change all of their lives permanently. I thought this horror novel was hardcore, graphic, but also great. The violence is warranted and fits within the story: it makes you angry; it makes you cringe; but most of all, it makes you turn the pages relentlessly to see what happens next. I'm looking forward to reading more of Southard's work.

There are several shorts included, the best of which is "A Team-Building Exercise." The other three are hit and miss, but Just Like Hell alone warrants a purchase.

[Kathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I just had my expectations too high. I was expecting a lot more gore/torture. This was actually pretty soft. Honestly, I was even a little bothered at how much crying, shrieking and screaming (even while they weren't being physically hurt)these young men did. Call me sick and cold, but the thought kept crossing me mind. Sad that Dillon lost Randy so tragically by the hands of Kevin (you could tell Dillon and Randy really did feel very strongly for each other and loved each other). Toby's death..meh, should've let Dillon get him. Slug and Kevin's death...YAWN. Kinda wish it was bloodier and that Dillon had gotten more creative with his punishment on Kevin.

[Steven Shroyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deadite Press scores another winner by publishing a savage tale of vicious hatred and unimaginable cruelty. Nate Southard's "Just Like Hell" is scary not because of it's savage violence but in the unmistakeable fact that an event like this could really occur. The ending of this story moved me with it's haunting prose and emotional impact. The 4 other stories in this collection are just the gore caked cherry on a delicious sundae of a horror novel. This is a worthy addition to any true horror fan's library!

[Göksel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just Like Hell, beş garip hikayeden oluşan bir korku kitabı. İlk hikaye aşırı derece homofobik olduğu için beni çok rahatsız etti. Yine de kitabın en iyi yazılmış hikayesi de oydu (yazar homofobiyi övmüyor yanlış anlaşılmasın).
İkinci hikaye tamamen black mirror'dan alınma gibiydi. Hatta özellikle bir bölüme aşırı benziyordu.
Üçüncü ve dördüncü hikaye ortalama düzeyde ve ��ok klasikti. Pek bir özellikleri olduğunu düşünmüyorum şahsen. Bana daha önce izlediğim birçok filmi hatırlattı.
Son hikayenin ne amaçla yazıldığını bile anlamadım oldukça kısaydı.

[Lakisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nate Southard’s Just Like Hell is a visceral, fast-paced novella that punches you in the gut and leaves you reeling. This dark, uncompromising tale of revenge and horror doesn’t shy away from the grotesque, yet it’s grounded by its raw emotional core. A must-read for fans of extreme horror who appreciate intensity paired with depth.

[Michael Myett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Three and one-half stars. A couple good short stories and the main novella had lots of potential but near the end Southard seemed to be in a hurry to wrap it up. Another 15 - 25 pages could have made this book a 5 star read. Not the authors best work but still worth reading.